Stone Age Minds in the Age of AI: Cognitive Adaptations and Artificial Agents

This Research Topic explores how human cognition, shaped over millennia of evolutionary pressures, is confronting the novel presence of artificial intelligence in daily life. From language models and virtual assistants to synthetic companions and algorithmic decision-makers, AI systems increasingly interact with us in ways that tap into, exploit, or confuse our evolved mental mechanisms.

We aim to bring together empirical and theoretical work from cognitive science, evolutionary and moral psychology, philosophy of mind, and human-computer interaction with perspectives informed by current developments in AI. Central questions include (but are not limited to):

• How do evolved cognitive modules (e.g., for theory of mind, face perception, agency detection) interpret artificial agents?
• Do humans anthropomorphize AI due to deep-rooted social-cognitive heuristics? Are we evolutionarily prepared to treat artificial systems as social partners?
• What mismatches exist between Pleistocene-adapted minds and the affordances of modern AI?
• Can AI systems hijack or exploit evolved biases (e.g., in attention, trust, or decision-making)?
• How do children and adults differently perceive and engage with AI, given developmental and evolutionary constraints?
• What are the implications of these mismatches for ethics, design, or AI safety?

We welcome empirical studies, computational modeling, and theoretical syntheses that draw from multiple disciplines to address these questions. Papers may explore human-AI interaction, experimental approaches to anthropomorphism, or philosophical reflections grounded in cognitive and evolutionary theory.

This collection builds on a lineage of foundational work, from Cosmides & Tooby’s modular theory of the mind, Tomasello’s work on social cognition and shared intentionality, and Dennett’s intentional stance, to recent studies on how people interact with AI. We aim to attract contributions from scholars working at the cutting edge of these debates, whether your background is in experimental psychology, computational cognitive science, AI ethics, or philosophical inquiry.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Registered Report
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Human-AI Interaction, Cognitive Modules, Anthropomorphism, Philosophy of Mind, Algorithmic Bias, Theory of mind, Agency detection, Evolved heuristics, Evolutionary psychology, Adaptive mismatch, Pleistocene mind

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.